Update 1st 6 weeks in.

[NewGuy]

Let’s get things straight shall we I didn’t shoot you down at all , secondly the other window cleaner isn’t ripping her off at £40 for 30 muinits work , she was obviously happy to pay that initially and then got you for what ever reason , we have loads of jobs at that price and considerably more , I doubt you know his overheads , he might employ ones have several vans , be VAT registered and a host of other expenses so needs to charge more , than you as a sole trader , but evan if he is in the same position as you the customer decides what they are happy to pay or not pay so again he’s not ripping her off , we regularly price jobs at double  sometimes three times the previous cleaners prices and get the jobs . 

But he lost the job because the customer said they couldn't justify £40. There has been a fair few jobs that I've collected in similar scenarios. In my location, it's not justified to charge £40 for a job that a quick cleaner will do in 20 minutes. You're very privileged to be in such a position to charge those rates. But think of us poor plebs competing with so many others that is keeping prices down. ?

 

[NewGuy]

Happy days,  I've a couple where I earn a few quid over the £40, per hour I'm working towards , a few under also, but hopefully it will work out to £40, per hr average. 

Good on you. It will balance out eventually. I have 5 houses next door to each other that I do monthly. They earn me £100 for 90 minutes work. This is where the argument for compact work wins. 

 

[Part Timer]

I agree, I passed my exams at school I got mostly graded G's so I passed but I ain't Einstein neither does a 1 day window cleaning course make someone a skilled and qualified window cleaner who has been cleaning clean windows that everyone else on the course has cleaned multiple times. 

 

This is the point on most certificates though. Nearly 20 years ago I was "head hunted" for the position of UK National Non Ferrous Manager for, at the time, one of the biggest Scrap Metal company in the world. Part of the job criteria was you had to have a Business Degree, which I don't have, yet the company in charge of finding the candidates put me at the top of the pile of candidates.

The top 3 were asked to attend a meeting with the European MD and when I went in the first question I was asked was why did I think I met the criteria when I didn't have the said Business Degree. My reply, that actually put a smile on his face was, at the age of 18 I was helping to run a business that turned over millions rather than reading about how to do it.

I didn't get the job, or £60K a year salary +++ all the extra perks, but was offered the area Managers job, that paid £40k ++, which, much to the horror of the "Head Hunter" I turned down.

A funny twist on this I was at a corporate golf day and was golfing with someone from the same company I'd had an interview with. The bloke was very arrogant and pretty much thought he was the most important person there. During the round I told him about my interview and job offer and why I turned it down. The look on his face after I'd finished was a picture and he replied, "so because you turned the job down they employed me" I hadn't known he was the Area Manager for where I turned down. Safe to say he wasn't as much "Billy Big Boots" after ? 

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I found in the Fire Service that they were scared to promote someone who was too knowledgeable because they may end up taking over them in the promotion ladder. 

 

[Pjj]

But he lost the job because the customer said they couldn't justify £40. There has been a fair few jobs that I've collected in similar scenarios. In my location, it's not justified to charge £40 for a job that a quick cleaner will do in 20 minutes. You're very privileged to be in such a position to charge those rates. But think of us poor plebs competing with so many others that is keeping prices down. ?

Kent is quite an affluent area isn’t it ??? £40 for 30 muinits is good money anywhere but it’s up to the customer to  decide what they think is good value for money , some will be happy with that and some won’t we have picked up a lot of work at several times more money than the previous cleaner for  several reasons , they are unreliable , do a poor job , look unprofessional, we arnt the dearest in our area neither are we the cheapest , also from our point of view pricing work will depend on what kit we are using if Ime using a 50 foot pole on a 4 storey house the price will be a lot higher than using an 18 foot pole on a 2 storey one . 

 

[NewGuy]

Kent is quite an affluent area isn’t it ???

West Kent is (Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks) but not so much elsewhere. I work in mid-Kent and the affluent areas are dotted all over the countryside   which I don't focus on because of the distances. The main towns are not affluent at all except for the two aforementioned places. 

 

[steve garwood]

West Kent is (Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks) but not so much elsewhere. I work in mid-Kent and the affluent areas are dotted all over the countryside   which I don't focus on because of the distances. The main towns are not affluent at all except for the two aforementioned places. 

Agree with this. I work in Chislehurst, Petts wood and Hayes, these are on the Kent/London border. These are extremely affluent areas. However my oldest son lives in Gillingham, mid Kent and this part of Kent is an absolute sh*thole 

 

[ched999uk]

Agree with this. I work in Chislehurst, Petts wood and Hayes, these are on the Kent/London border. These are extremely affluent areas. However my oldest son lives in Gillingham, mid Kent and this part of Kent is an absolute sh*thole 

I used to live in Chislehurst and worked near Petts Wood many years ago. They were posh areas in late 80's, can't imagine the cost of some of those houses now!!!!

 

[NewGuy]

Agree with this. I work in Chislehurst, Petts wood and Hayes, these are on the Kent/London border. These are extremely affluent areas. However my oldest son lives in Gillingham, mid Kent and this part of Kent is an absolute sh*thole 

I keep getting requests to quote for jobs in Chatham and Gillingham. I refuse point blank to work in those areas.